Cal Lutheran Scratches 6-Year Itch, Topples District 3 Power Biola

Steve deLaveaga had a personal checklist of reasons why he wanted Cal Lutheran to defeat Biola on Thursday night.

Topping that list was Biola’s 21-point victory over Cal Lutheran in the NAIA District 3 semifinals in March. The senior guard blames himself for that loss. He says he did not provide the leadership the Kingsmen needed to upset Biola, a perennial District 3 power.

In Thursday night’s nonconference game at Cal Lutheran--the first meeting between the teams since March--D e Laveaga provided the leadership and Mike Demeter added a team-high 16 points to spark Cal Lutheran to a 82-76 victory.

It was CLU’s first win against Biola in 6 years.

Cal Lutheran (5-3) took advantage of a depleted Biola roster to upset the Eagles. With 6 players ineligible and forward Anton Walker sidelined because of an injured back, Biola had just 6 players available.

Up until Thursday night, Biola (3-2) did not seem to suffer from a manpower shortage. But Cal Lutheran was able to jump ahead early, pressure Biola defensively and hold off the scrappy Eagles.

“We have to have several guys with real strong games to be competitive right now,” Biola Coach Dave Holmquist said. “We were fortunate to have that in the first few games.

“Cal Lutheran did a nice job of making us play a game we did not want to play, one with a lot of scoring. They were tough against us and pressured us defensively.”

Cal Lutheran Coach Larry Lopez said that he was worried about his team being overconfident against a depleted opponent.

“I was concerned about it, but we played an excellent game, probably our best game of the year,” Lopez said. “The win was not real significant for us in terms of momentum because it’s so early in the season, but we’re starting to come around.”

Cal Lutheran never trailed and led at halftime, 37-28. The Kingsmen went a long way to ensuring the win by scoring 7 unanswered points to begin the second half.

The Eagles made a run at Cal Lutheran in the closing minutes but had too much ground to make up.

Without Paul Horn, a 6-foot, 7-inch center, and Eric Nielsen, the Eagles would have really been in trouble. Horn and Nielsen each scored 20 points.

DeLaveaga, CLU’s all-time leading scorer, had 15 points in a sluggish outing. The senior guard averages 29.1 points a game. Jeff Logsdon and Blake Miraglia each added 11 points.

If Cal Lutheran plays Biola again this season it will not be until the District 3 playoffs. The Eagles should be at full strength by then, however, as their 6 transfers are expected to be eligible this month.